Here We Go Again- Year One
by President-Of-S.P.E.W
Summary: This story follows Rose Weasley through her first year at Hogwarts where she deals with the consequences of a wizarding society that so heavily focuses on the accomplishments and downfalls of the generation before them. She has to learn how to let go of the prejudices she was raised with to accomplish something bigger than she's ever dreamed.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything Harry Potter related, just this plot.**

**A.N.: This story begins right after Albus Potter and Rose Weasley board the train and sit down. I have a few OCs who are characters that have been created by the lovely people that I roleplay with. The characters, such as Rose Malfoy, Jason Milbourne, and Caitlyn Mitchell are characters in said roleplay and wanted to be part of the story. Yes, I do realize there was no mention of Scorpius Malfoy having a twin, but she's a very prominent character in the roleplay which this fanfiction is based off of and is a close friend OOC. With much convincing, I decided to share this story with you fine people as well as them. Anyways! On with the story!**

Chapter One

I stepped onto the chaotic train with Albus, giving him an encouraging smile before sitting down in an empty compartment. He attempted to flatten his dark hair as he sat across from me.

I held back a smile as I watched him look around a bit nervously. "Al, honestly, you're going to be fine. You should be excited." I smiled. "We're finally going to Hogwarts!"

He sighed and started tapping his foot, glancing out the window. "I know, Rosie. I'm just nervous, I guess."

I pulled out the old copy of Hogwarts, A History that Mum had given me and sat it carefully on my lap. "You shouldn't be. Forget what James says, ok? You won't be in Slytherin so you don't need to worry."

His head snapped in my direction. "Dad said there's nothing wrong with Slytherin."

A bit surprised, I paused a moment. "I wasn't trying to insult you, Al… You know that…"

We were quiet for a minute before he spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Before I could respond, there was a quiet tap on the door. We both looked over to see the pale, blonde boy from Platform 9 ¾ standing there. His cool grey eyes washed over both of us, studying us a moment before he finally said, "Do you mind if I join you?"

Remembering what Dad had told me, I opened my mouth to tell him our compartment was full, but Albus interrupted me. "Sure!" He said in a friendly tone and patted the seat next to him.

The boy, whose name I couldn't quite remember, sat down next to Albus, the corner of his lips slightly twitched into a smile… or smirk, really. "Scorpius Malfoy." He introduced himself, extending his hand to Albus.

Albus shook his hand and smiled. "Albus Potter. And this is my cousin, Rose."

Scorpius' eyes darted my direction once more, almost looking amused. "Weasley, right? I like your hair."

I felt my face heat up and instinctively touched my frizzy red hair. Embarrassed, I crossed my arms tightly across my chest and didn't say a word.

His lips stretched into a more defined smirk and he leaned back in his seat, almost as if he was proud that he embarrassed me. "So, Albus, what house do you think you'll get into?"

Albus looked at me with his bright green eyes, clearly disapproving my less-than-friendly attitude towards Scorpius before smiling at the blonde boy. "No idea, really. Knowing me, the hat will take so long deciding that they'll decide to ship me back home." They chuckled. "What about you?"

Scorpius didn't skip a beat. "Slytherin. Like Father. Best house, you know."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Typical Malfoy answer, as Dad would say.

He and Albus both turned their attention towards me, Albus' expression a one of warning, Scorpius' looking more like one of challenge. "Disagree, Weasley?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms tighter. "Clearly."

He narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess, you're striving to be in Gryffindor, just like Mummy and Daddy?" He asked tauntingly with a smirk.

I glared at him. "No, I strive to be in the best house, which is Gryffindor. My Mum and Dad being in that house has nothing to do with why I hope to be sorted there."

Scorpius watched me, staring at me to the point of making me uncomfortable before laughing lightly under his breath and looking at Albus. "And you're related to her?"

Albus chuckled before stopping short after receiving a sharp glare from me.

I sighed and opened my book, turning the pages until I found where I had left off and began reading, trying desperately to ignore Scorpius' agitating comments. I knew Mum would be disappointed in how quick I was to start an argument with someone I hardly knew, but I knew Dad would be very proud and probably go buy me a new broomstick if he knew I'd stood up against a Malfoy.

The trolley came and we each ordered our snacks, the boys buying an absurd amount of food and I only a couple chocolate frogs and a pack of droobles. As the boys were trading cards and stuffing their faces, the compartment door swung open, reveling two girls, one with blonde hair and the other with black.

The blonde looked around the compartment, her nose wrinkling with disgust when she met my eyes and looked over at Scorpius. "Scorp, I've been looking all over for you! I thought you'd be with Zabini."

Scorpius shrugged. "I didn't feel like sitting with him and you just disappeared so I found somewhere else."

Her eyes glanced back over to me and then to Albus. "A Weasley and a Potter. Interesting company, Twinny." She smirked, looking eerily like Scorpius before taking another step inside and kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you when we get there, ok?" Before he could answer, she grabbed the black-haired girl's arm and walked away, snickering about red hair.

Scorpius looked a little embarrassed as he leaned back into his seat. "My sister. Her name is Rose, too." He met my eyes. "Sorry if she insulted you two. She can be like that sometimes."

Albus laughed and I immediately looked down at my book. I didn't remember seeing another child with the Malfoys on the Platform earlier. I'd prepared myself for one Malfoy, but I was certain I'd was going to have a tough time dealing with two of them.

For the rest of the train ride, the boys joked and ate and a few times tried to bring me into the conversation, but soon realized that I was perfectly content reading and left me alone. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Scorpius and how well he was getting along with Albus. For a moment, I imagined Albus replacing me as his best friend, but I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my mind. Albus wouldn't do that, I told myself, he's going to be sorted into Gryffindor with me and Scorpius will be sorted into Slytherin. They'll hardly see each other unless it's during lessons and we'll continue to be best friends like we have been.

When we arrived at Hogwarts, it was dark and you could only see the silhouette of the castle, the lights glowing from inside reflecting off the dark waters of the lake. Hagrid, grey bearded, stood with a giant lantern, calling all of the first years over to him. When Albus, Scorpius, and I approached him, he smiled at us with his with his beetle-like eyes. "'Ello there Rose, Albus. Was wonderin' when I'd see the two of you." He looked at Scorpius like he was trying to remember where he'd seen him but smiled at him anyhow. "And who might you be?"

I looked at Scorpius, half expecting him to ignore Hagrid completely or say something rude, but he smiled, kind of, and extended his hand politely. "Scorpius Malfoy. You're the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, aren't you?"

Hagrid looked both surprised and pleased. "Just for the firs' through fourth years. Good to meet you, Scorpius." He smiled again before herding all of the rest of the first years and giving us directions on how many people to a boat and what to do once we arrived at the castle.

Albus, Scorpius, and I immediately started walking towards a boat. I heard a loud squeal and saw Rose Malfoy and the black haired girl laughing at something. Not looking where I was going, I ran into someone and knocked his book onto the ground.

"Merlin, I'm sorry!" I quickly picked up the book and wiped it off, handing it to the boy I'd run into. He was a thin boy, with curly blonde hair. He took the book and smiled nervously. "No big deal. Don't worry about it."

I smiled kindly and gestured for him to come with me to catch up with Albus and Scorpius. "I'm Rose Weasley, by the way."

"I'm Jason Milbourne." He looked at Scorpius and Albus a little wearily and looked back at me. "You sure you want me to go with you guys? I can find another boat…"

"Of course you can join us." Albus smiled. They all greeted each other, Scorpius' a little less friendly than his greeting with Albus and Hagrid, and we all climbed into the boat, Jason and I in front.

"Try 'n not fall in!" Hagrid bellowed before the boats started floating across the surface of the lake towards the castle. I heard a few people gasp as the boats started moving on their own and other people laugh and point, talking excitedly among themselves.

I smiled, staring at the castle that would now be my home. Mum had told me about the first time she'd seen Hogwarts, as did Dad, though his account was much less descriptive. As much as I'd read about it, I'd never imagined how majestic and magical it would be. There was no way anything could ever top Hogwarts.

"Amazing!" Jason said, looking at the castle as well. He smiled at me before his eyes fell on something behind me and he screamed.

I spun around, seeing a giant tentacle slowly drift back under the water. Laughing, I glanced around at the boy's faces, each with a different degree of fright on their faces. "It's only the giant squid. There's nothing to be frightened of."

"Nothing to be frightened of? It's a giant bloody squid!" Jason eyed the water nervously.

I smiled. "He's friendly. There's a myth actually that the giant squid is really Godric Gryffindor as his animagus."

Albus sighed. "You should really put down the books every once in a while, Rosie."

I playfully stuck my tongue out at him before facing forward again and watching the castle again in awe.

"Well," Scorpius whispered behind me, "we all know which house she's getting into."

I felt myself blush a little, thankful for the darkness to help hide it. Only a little bit longer and I wouldn't have to interact with Scorpius Malfoy again.

After all of the first years had finished getting off the boats and onto the shore, Hagrid lead us all into the castle, having all of us line up outside two giant double doors. A pretty woman with long black hair and hard blue eyes watched us all carefully.

"Thank you, Hagrid." She smiled kindly to him before directing her attention back to us. "Hello first years. I am your Charms professor, Professor Drusilla." She paused a moment, seeming to be evaluating us. "Tonight before the feast, you will be sorted into your houses. Now for those of you who may not know, there are four houses at Hogwarts: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Once you enter these doors, you will all be called up one at a time, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be directed to your proper house. Now, are there any questions?" She looked around at the silent group of eleven year olds and barely smiled. "Good, now follow me." She turned around and led us into the Great Hall. The room was decorated with all of the House flags hanging above each of the four long tables. I spotted James, Victoire, Dominique, and Molly sitting at the Gryffindor table, each giving me and Albus encouraging smiles, apart from James who was still trying to psych Albus out. Lucy, the only Weasley-Potter cousin to be sorted outside of Gryffindor thus far, whispered a "Good luck!" to us from the Ravenclaw table as we passed her.

We came to a stop in front if an old hat sitting on a wooden stool. The older students fell into silence as Professor Drusilla unrolled a scroll and picked up the old hat. One by one, the first years were called up to the front, each ranging in different levels of fright and excitement. When Rose Malfoy was called, she smiled as she walked gracefully up to the stool and sat down, seemingly unconcerned about where she was going to be placed. I glanced beside me seeing Albus biting his fingernails and Scorpius watching his sister calmly. In a few short seconds, the hat cried, "Slytherin!" and Rose skipped happily to her table.

Scorpius was called after and ignored the quiet whispers as he walked confidently to the chair. The hat spent longer on him than his sister, and each passing second, Scorpius seemed look more and more grim. Finally, the hat decided to put him into Slytherin, which judging from what Dad and what Scorpius himself had told me, wasn't much of a surprise. I watched him as he joined his sister and quickly looked to the front again before he saw me.

A quiet girl with large glasses by the name of Caitlyn Mitchell was next. She kept her head down as she shuffled to the front. She squeaked a little and then was silent until the Sorting Hat announced that she would be the first to be sorted into Gryffindor. I clapped for her, more enthusiastically than I probably should have. I saw Dominique giggle at me and wave. I smiled back and watched as Caitlyn sat down next to a really tall boy and stare at her empty plate.

There was a shuffling behind me and Roxy appeared where Scorpius was just standing. "Bloody hell, Rosie! You'd think I'd be able to find you anywhere with that red hair of yours. I've been looking for you all night!" She gave me a joking smile and glanced at Jason. "Hey stranger. Roxy Weasley. Who are you?"

Before he could answer, Professor Drusilla called his name and he turned a sickly color and looked at the floor as he made his way to the stool. The hat took a bit of time on Jason, and all I could see were jerky shakes of the head from him. It seemed the hat wanted to sort him into a house he didn't particularly want to join. With a chuckle, the Sorting Hat announced that Jason would be in Hufflepuff. Though slightly disappointed, I clapped for him as he regained the color in his face as sat under the black and yellow flag with his fellow housemates.

"Potter, Albus!" Interrupted my thoughts and Albus stiffened by my side. With a gentle nudge from me and a not so gentle push from Roxanne, he stepped forward and sat on the stool, meeting my eyes nervously as Professor Drusilla placed the Sorting Hat on his head. My stomach was in knots as the hat seemed to take forever deciding where to put Albus, each moment feeling like an eternity. People started to whisper and I looked around and glared at my fellow first years. He deserved the same respect I knew he'd give them. I turned back around, watching Albus seem to relax.

I smiled and whispered to Roxy. "Thank Merlin, that means he'll be in-"

"Slytherin!" The Hat called out. The hall was nearly silent other than many confused Slytherins clapping for him. I watched in horror as Albus took his place next to Scorpius, who patted him on the back before meeting my eyes. I ground my teeth together, glaring at him before whipping my head to the front again. I didn't know exactly how, but I knew Scorpius Malfoy must have been the reason Albus was sorted into Slytherin. There was no other explanation.

Roxy smiled at me sympathetically, clearly at a loss for words herself. I stood there with my head spinning with thoughts, only catching the black haired girl from the train, Luciana Bell, being sorted into Slytherin, and Skye Vickery, a girl with bright red hair being sorted into Gryffindor as well. It wasn't until Roxy elbowed me hard in the side did I realize that it was my turn.

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I felt everyone's eyes on me when I took my seat on the stool. Professor Drusilla set the Sorting Hat on my head and I was immediately greeted by a deep voice.

"Another Weasley, eh?" The voice chuckled. "Seems you have quite the mind. Though you're rather brave and ambitious, too. Interesting."

I sighed, silently wishing to be put into Gryffindor, or at very least Ravenclaw.

"You have fairly strong opinions of Slytherin, Miss Weasley. Are you sure they're accurate?"

I suppressed the urge to argue and chewed on the inside of my cheek and I thought of Gryffindor, mentally begging the hat not to put me anywhere else.

"Don't be so quick to judge, Weasley." The voice told me before shouting, "Gryffindor!"

I smiled excitedly as the Sorting Hat was taken off my head. I got up, getting a "Whoop!" from Roxy as I walked to the Gryffindor table with my head held high. James and Dom quickly scooted over to make room for me and James threw his arms around my shoulders.

"Good job, Rosie." He grinned at me, like I'd actually accomplished something.

"Yeah, welcome to the best house at Hogwarts." Dominique winked at me and laughed, causing a couple of the boys sitting around us to sigh quietly.

Vic shushed us as Roxy was sorted into Gryffindor as well and we all laughed when she fist-pumped before running over to us and sitting across from me.

"What took you so long, Rosie? That bloody hat seemed to take forever on you." Roxy said as she sat down.

"Yeah, what was it saying?" Dominique asked curiously, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Trying to decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Just like Dad said it would." I smiled at them. Technically I wasn't telling a lie, just not the whole truth.

After Zeb Zabini was sorted into Slytherin, a pretty older woman with short blonde hair stood, calling our attention to her. "Welcome to Hogwarts first years and welcome back upperclassmen!" She smiled as there were a few cheers from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. "Before we begin our feast, I have only a few announcements. First, no student is allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest. Secondly, there will be no dueling in the hallways." She looked at James, who shrank a bit in his seat. "I know we had a bit of an issue with that last year. Lastly, classes will begin tomorrow morning. Your Head of House will give you your schedules once you get settled in your dorms." She paused a moment before waving her wand and a giant display of food that would rival Grandma Molly appeared in front of us. "Enjoy!"

Students automatically started grabbing food. Roxy and I looked around a moment before joining in. I decided to go against Mum's rules of dessert after dinner and immediately went for a slice of key lime pie.

James shook his head, his mouth too full of food to speak, and put a spoonful of carrots on my plate. I sighed, but decided that him owling Mum and telling her I wasn't eating properly wasn't the best start to the school year and ate the carrots grudgingly after a bite of the pie.

Molly nudged Vic and nodded her head towards the Slytherin table. "I can't tell if he's upset or pleased to be over there."

I looked up to see Albus laughing with Scorpius about something as they shoveled food into their mouths, meeting my eyes and giving me an apologetic smile before returning to his food.

"Forget him. I swear, Mum must have dropped him on his head as a baby." James said with his mouth full.

Dominique rolled her eyes and handed James a napkin. "Someone dropped you on your head too, Jamie."

"Yeah, then tossed him off the roof." Roxy joked.

I looked away from the Slytherin table and smiled at my cousins. I didn't need Albus and he clearly didn't need me. We all continued to joke and laugh amongst ourselves. After eating way too much dessert, the Headmistress dismissed us, telling us first years to follow the Prefects to our Dormitories.

Roxy ducked under the table and appeared next to me, looking excited. "I can't wait to see our dorms. Dom says they're great, like the beds make themselves and the bathroom counter in full of makeup and stuff!"

I frowned. "The beds don't make themselves. House elves do it. Honestly, she should make her own bed. The house elves don't get paid enough for that."

Roxy rolled her eyes and linked her arm through mine, dragging me out of the Great Hall where we'd seen the red head Skye Vickery chase after a group of first years.

"Rose!" Albus called behind me. "Rosie, wait!"

Roxy glanced behind us as I kept walking. "Um, Rose..?"

"I don't want to talk to him." I said shortly, walking quickly to catch up with Skye and the rest of the first years. I ignored her sigh as the Prefect spoke to us, giving us directions on the easiest paths to class and to be careful of the ever changing staircases. After what seemed like an eternity of climbing stairs, we reached a portrait of the Fat Lady, whom I remember Dad telling me was an awful singer.

"The passwords change," the Prefect told us, "but for now, the password is bubotuber." With that, the portrait swung open and all of us climbed inside, looking around at the red and gold common room. "Here is where most of the students hang out between and after classes." He pointed to a bulletin board of sorts. "And here is where any house or school information will be posted. Our Quidditch games are also posted there so check them often." He smiled. "Now, ladies, your dorms are just up this staircase to your right. Boys, the same on your left. I should warn you boys that it is not possible to get into the girl's dorms, so I suggest, to keep from embarrassing yourselves, you stay off the stair case."

A blonde-haired boy sighed dramatically, giving Skye a giant grin and causing her to blush and inch away from him.

The Prefect shook his head and told us to go pick our beds. We all shuffled up the stairs and Roxy shoved her way to the front of the crowd, jumping onto the bed in the very middle of the room. I walked in after her and took one of the beds beside hers that had a big window next to it, giving a great view of the Quidditch Pitch. Skye and Caitlyn both came in, each choosing the beds in the corners of the room. Skye's bed was next to mine, and Caitlyn's was farthest away from all of ours. They both decorated the walls next to their beds with posters and pictures as Roxy and I unpacked and talked excitedly to each other.

"I'm excited to start classes," I told her as I pulled my books out of my trunk. "I wonder which class we'll have first."

Roxy rolled her eyes. "Of course you're excited for the classes, Rosie. I just hope we're not stuck with boring classes because we're first years. I'm ready to get to the good stuff. I hope our first lesson is with the Hufflepuffs, though. That curly-haired boy is pretty cute.

I laughed and pulled out a picture of Albus and I smiled goofily at the camera and frowned, dropping it back inside the truck and shutting it. "Knowing my rotten luck, it'll be with the Slytherins."

And hour later, Roxy laid on her bed, groaning and complaining about my luck affecting the rest of them. "Charms with the Slytherins? Really, Rose? You just had to open your mouth and jinx us, didn't you?"

"I said I was sorry…" I repeated for the millionth time. After we'd gotten our schedules, Caitlyn and Skye hadn't made a noise. If they hadn't been so quiet before, I would have thought they were mad at me too.

Roxy held her schedule up. "At least we have Defense Against the Dark Arts with Hufflepuffs after, but then we have Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins again…"

"I heard they try to put Gryffindors and Slytherins together in more classes since the war," Skye said quietly from her bed. "they're hoping it will relieve some of the tension if we have to work together or something…"

"Brilliant. Just brilliant. You would have thought James or Dom would have bloody well told us that." Roxy sighed dramatically and put her schedule on the nightstand. We were all quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I wonder how Al is doing."

I snatched the brush off my desk with unnecessary force and started working on my messy hair.

"Oh come on, Rosie." Roxie looked over at me with her dark eyes. "You can't really be mad at him. It's not like he chose to be sorted into Slytherin."

I bit my lip to keep from disagreeing. "It's not that he's in Slytherin. It's that he's friends with that prat, Scorpius Malfoy. Even after my dad's warning…"

"We all know your dad likes to exaggerate, Rosie… the kid can't be that bad."

I gave her a sharp look and pulled my hair into a fluffy ponytail. "You haven't had to speak with him yet. He was in the same compartment as me the whole train ride here and when I say he's trouble, I mean he's trouble. Albus shouldn't be associating with people like that." I set my brush back down and laid down, pulling the covers up to my neck.

"I think you're jealous, personally." Roxy said casually.

"You what? Me? Jealous- don't be ridiculous, Roxanne." I felt my face heat up again.

"Ridiculous, right." She muttered something under her breath and rolled onto her side, facing away from me. "Night, Rosie."

I sighed and stared at the canopy of my bed. "Good night, Roxy."

That night, I dreamt I was sitting on the wooden stool in the Great Hall with the Sorting Hat on my head. The lights were dimmed and it was completely silent as the Hat contemplated putting me in Slytherin.

Please, anything but Slytherin! I screamed mentally, Anything! Send me home before you put me there!

The Sorting Hat chuckled darkly before announcing to everyone that I would be the newest addition to Slytherin. No one clapped or even whispered as I walked to the Slytherin table. I glanced over at James and Dominique, both of them glaring at me like I was Voldemort's child. I quickly looked at the ground and tried not to look at anyone else.

At least Albus will be with you. I tried to comfort myself. It'll be fine, Al will be there too.

I looked up, seeing only one empty space between the Malfoy twins. I awkwardly sat there and looked around Scorpius, hoping to see an encouraging smile from my best friend, but he wasn't there. Confused, I tapped Scorpius' shoulder, receiving a cold and indifferent glare.

"Where is Albus?" I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, looking at me like I was insane. "What planet are you on, Weasley? He's in Gryffindor, just like the rest of your family."

I quickly looked over the sea of heads and to my horror saw Albus sitting with my cousins, laughing with them and giving me an icy glare.

I sat straight up in my bed, looking around a moment before calming down when I recognized the Gryffindor colors around the room. I looked over at Roxy's bed, finding it empty, as well as Caitlyn and Skye's. After rubbing my face roughly, I pushed myself out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. I took a long, hot shower, trying to wash away the ill feeling in the pit of my stomach from the dream. After quickly getting ready, taking care in making sure my uniform looked perfect; I grabbed my bag and books and walked calmly to the Great Hall.

Most of the students seemed to already be there, eating plate after plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Roxy waved at me from our table and I quickly made my way over to her, making sure not to glance in the Slytherin table's direction.

"Try the bacon. Seriously. It's to die for." Roxy told me, piling about ten pieces on my plate.

I laughed. "This food is going to kill me. I'll never be able to stop eating it."

"Eat some fruit, Rosie." James ordered from a few seats down.

I looked at him annoyed. "Since when do you care about my diet?"

He smiled cheekily. "Since Uncle Ron paid me to keep an eye on you. Besides, if you plan on trying out for the team next year, you better start eating better and training. Serious business, Quidditch is."

I looked at his plate and back up at him with an eyebrow raised. "Is that why you have nothing but bacon and sausage on your plate? There's some real nutritional value there."

He looked at his plate and frowned. "What? It's protein."

Roxy and I laughed and continued eating and discussing what we though Charms would be like.

"All I know is that I'm partnering up with you. In everything. Seriously, I've never known someone to study before school has even started."

I blushed. "I was just curious…"

She giggled, looking at the other side of the Great Hall and then back at me. "By the way, how does your head feel?"

I looked at her, confused. "My head? Fine, I suppose. Why?"

"Because Al and the Malfoy dude are staring a hole in it."

I sighed and looked over at them. Al relaxed and smiled enthusiastically at me while Scorpius' expression remained calm, his mouth barely hinting a smirk. I gave Albus a half hearted smile back, refusing to look at Scorpius again, and went back to my breakfast.

"You do realize you're going to have to talk to Albus in like twenty minutes, right? We have Charms with him, remember?" Roxy reminded me.

I suppressed the urge to say some of my father's favorite curse words. "I know, Roxy. I just don't want to deal with him right now." I looked up at her in time to see her sneer at someone. I followed her eyes to Rose Malfoy who was sitting next to her brother and now glaring at me. A little alarmed, I looked at Roxy. "What the bloody hell is that look for?"

Roxy shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "All I saw was her talking to her brother and then she started glaring over here. I don't know what her problem is."

I groaned and pushed my plate away from me. Charms was going to be fun…

Roxy and I left the Great Hall a few minutes later and made our way to the Charms class. We learned quickly not to trust upper-class boys to give proper directions, but we soon found our way and, much to Roxy's dismay, sat in the front. Student slowly entered the classroom, most trying to find a spot in the middle or the very back.

A few minutes after sitting down, I was flipping through my textbook when I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around and Albus' green eyes met mine.

"Rosie, will you please talk to me?"

I sighed and shut my book, feeling both aggravated and guilty. "What do you want to talk about?"

He sat in the desk to my left and frowned. "I'm sorry I'm not in Gryffindor."

I looked down at my charms textbook. "It's fine, Al…" I said in a small voice.

"We'll still see each other all the time." He assured me. "Everyday, I promise."

I turned to look at him, offering a small smile. " I know, I was just looking forward to being with you all the time, is all. Like we've always talked about."

Roxy shifted uncomfortably beside me. I knew she wasn't one for deep conversations.

He grinned. "I know. But we'll just have to find new ways to cause trouble. Ok?"

I laughed softly. "Ok."

"Is it safe to come over or should I keep my distance?" I heard Scorpius ask from behind me. He smirked when I looked over my shoulder at him. "Hey, Princess. Not still pouting, are you?"

I glared at him. "You know, it really wouldn't hurt my feelings if you stayed in the back of the classroom, Malfoy. I'm not nearly as tempted to hex you when you're not in my face."

He chuckled and sat next to Albus, who was glancing nervously between us. "Actually, Weasley, I think you'd rather enjoy me being in your face."

I flushed bright red, feeling Roxy nudge me as she whispered for me to calm down. I took a deep breath, ready to strike back with my own witty response when Professor Drusilla walked out of her office and stepped into the front of the class. Everyone fell silent and I glared at Scorpius before turning my attention to her.

"Welcome to Charms, first years. Here I'll teach you how to make objects change color, fly, move on its own accord, and much more. Today, we'll being with the theory of the Hover spell. Now can anyone tell me the incantation for such a spell?"

I raised my hand immediately.

She looked at me with a somewhat pleased expression. "Yes, Miss…"

"Weasley, Professor. The incantation is Wingardrium Leviosa."

She nodded in agreement. "Very good, Miss Weasley. Now who can tell me a possible variation to this spell?"

I raised my hand again.

She looked in my direction, humored. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"Alarte Ascendare, I believe."

She smiled a little bit. "Very good. Five points to Gryffindor." She turned and started writing on the board. Roxy nudged me, giving me a huge smile. I returned it and started writing down everything she wrote on the board, ignoring the look Scorpius was giving me.

The rest of Charms passed quickly and soon it was time for lunch. Roxy and I grabbed seats next to Dominique and Vic, ignoring the boys who were staring at them and talked to one another how our classes were going.

"Transfigurations is going to be easy." Dom said, sipping on her pumpkin juice. "I was worried that Professor Tibbett's would be harder on us this year, but surprisingly he's not."

"Just you wait until you're in seventh year." Vic started grimly. "I already have a foot of parchment on vampires due for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I knew I shouldn't have gone with NEWT level…"

I glanced at the entrance hall and saw Al walk in with Scorpius and frowned.

"Looks like Al made a new friend." Dom said, following my gaze.

"Yeah, Rose really hit it off with him." Roxy giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "Hardly."

Dom laughed, "Rosie befriend a Malfoy? Uncle Ron has taught her better than that."

I looked back at my plate and bit into my bread roll a little too roughly. "He's an obnoxious prat. I want nothing to do with him."

"Not talking about me, are you?" James asked as he sat across from us,

"No, we're talking about Scorpius Malfoy." Roxy corrected, glancing at in the boy's direction.

James grimaced. "First, Al gets himself sorted into the wrong house, now he's friends with a bloody Malfoy. What's going on with him?"

I sighed and turned them out, focusing on my lunch and reading over my Charms notes. This year wasn't turning out to be the way I'd planned at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related.**

Chapter 2

The first week of Hogwarts hasn't been anything like what I'd expected. First of all, Freddie was lying when he said that Sunday is the day that we get to chose from an array of sweets as our meals for the day. Roxy gave him a good hexing for that one. Secondly, Rose Malfoy definitely has it out for me. I've already been pranked twice, and both times she stood there with that annoying Malfoy smirk and a cold glare to match. Honestly, I haven't any idea what I've done to the girl. And lastly, as if constantly being on the lookout for Rose's pranks isn't enough, I've got to deal with her equally irritating brother, who though haven't tried to physically harm me yet has taken more jabs at my ego in a week than all my cousins and little brother could in a year combined. These jabs usually end in a rather explosive argument, which is precisely what was happening again.

I let out an irritated screech and turned to glare at him. "You are by far the most wretched individual I've ever had the misfortune of meeting!"

I watched Scorpius as he smirked, ignoring Albus' elbow nudging his arm warningly. "I'm only speaking the truth, Weasley. It seems to me that you have a serious confidence problem the way you try to impress those teachers."

"I do not have a confidence problem! If either of us did, it'd be you!" I held my book to my chest tightly, my knuckles aching from clenching the binding so hard.

"They at it again?" Roxy asked as she and Jason walked up to us. Jason looked at us wearily, having been literally been caught in the middle of one of our screaming matches the day before as he tried to hold me back from attacking Malfoy.

I heard Albus give an annoyed grunt before Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "And what do you mean by that, Weasley?"

"What I mean, Malfoy, is that only someone who feels horrible about themselves feels the need to put down other people." I held my head high and I glared into his eyes. I felt rather pleased at the extra couple inches I had over his height.

He stared at me with cold, indifferent eyes for a moment while the others watched anxiously. I saw a few other students pause in the courtyard to watch what would happen out of the corner of my eye as my hand twitched towards my wand. Something passed through his eyes before he leant forward and whispered harshly, "You don't know anything, Weasley." He stood there, glaring at me like I was the scum of the Earth before taking a step back and walking away towards the dungeons.

I watched him as he walked away before getting a hard elbow in the ribs. "Ouch!" I turned to meet Albus' frustrated expression."What? He bloody deserved it and you know it!"

"All he did was ask why you try so hard in class for, Rose." He sighed. "I thought I'd asked you to stop being so mean to him."

I scoffed, ignoring Roxy clearing her throat that was meant to calm me down. "Why don't you tell him to stop making fun of your cousin and best friend, Albus Severus?" I watched him flinch as I used his middle name. "My parents taught me to not say anything if I can't come up with something pleasant. It's not my fault his family values aren't as such."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the eyes watching us carefully. "You've got to stop with the family jabs, Rosie. Seriously." He whispered.

"It's not like I'm saying anything that anyone doesn't already know." I said through grit teeth. "Maybe if you were the one getting slime dumped on you and being teased all day, you'd remember who it is you should really be defending." Before he could respond, I shoved past him and stomped my feet the whole way to the library, blushing at the glare I got from old Madam Prince and sat by a table by the window that seemed to always be empty. I couldn't understand why that was so, considering the view was beautiful. You could see most of the lake and some of the Forbidden Forrest.

I pulled out my Charms book and began practicing the spells that would be gone over in the next few weeks. I found Charms to be one of the most satisfying classes to study. You could physically see the progress you were making each time you tried out the spell.

As I was practicing Reparo on an old quill I kept breaking and mending again, I heard the chair across from me slide out. I looked up right into the eyes of Scorpius Malfoy and was immediately glad that my wand was already in my hand. Who knew what he'd do after an hour to brood over our argument.

"Weasley." He greeted as he sat down.

I nodded. "Malfoy." I noticed that he was missing his usual trade-mark smirk. 'About time…' I thought to myself.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Your cousin is scary when he's mad."

"Which one? I have quite a few male cousins, as you like to consistently remind me."

He frowned slightly and sighed. "I'm sorry for making fun of you, Rose."

I stared at him in surprise. "Um… I- Thank you… I'm sorry too, Mal- Scorpius."

I watched the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile as my cheeks burned. "We could try to be friends, if you'd like. For Albus?" He asked, watching me carefully.

I considered this a moment, truly not wanting to argue with Albus anymore. And logically speaking, although my cousins and father would be absolutely flabbergasted, befriending Scorpius could possibly work to my advantage as far as Rose Malfoy's pranking. I bit my bottom lip a moment before holding out my hand. "Alright. Friends?"

He eyed my hand before taking it and smirking. "Friends."

I gave his hand a firm shake, feeling much like I'd just finished a business deal and let go. While resisting the urge to wipe my hand off on my robes, I picked up my wand and went back to fixing the quill over and over.

I felt his eyes watch me a long moment. After a while, he opened a book and rested his head on his palm as he read. "You may not try to, but you do impress people in class, you realize?"

I felt the room get hot as I began to blush and looked up at him. "I do?"

He nodded, smiling slightly. "You're really smart. Father said you would be."

"Your father said I'd be smart?" I asked, astonished. My father on multiple occasions had told me that the Malfoys are notorious for only caring about themselves, blood status, and money. Everyone and everything who didn't meet their standards were trash, as far as they were concerned. Why would Mr. Malfoy complement me?

He smirked. "You look surprised."

"I am." I responded honestly. "I can't say I expected to hear something like that come out of your mouth."

He watched me with a strange expression. "We may have a bad reputation but we're not that bad. Maybe you will find that out some day."

I felt my cheeks blush again. "Maybe one day."

He laughed and shook his head, looking back at his book. "You look like you've eaten that fire taffy your uncle has in that joke shop of his."

I glared at him and kicked him lightly under the table. "Don't be rude."

"Just making an observation." He chuckled.

Part of me felt defensive, but the other part couldn't help but smile at the sudden change in the tense atmosphere that always occurred whenever Scorpius Malfoy and I were around each other. Instead of saying anything back, I simply smiled and continued with my studying with Scorpius sitting at the same table as I, doing the same thing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related.**

I felt like I was back in my nightmare.

You know, the one where I was sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, missing my best friend, and stuck sitting between the Malfoy twins and completely at their mercy? Good thing is that I was still in Gryffindor. Bad thing is that Albus was still in the Great Hall while I was sitting in the Headmistress's office between two eerily quiet Malfoys. The Muggle Studies Professor, Professor Joanna Abbott, stood beside us. She kept looking between the three of us with different levels of disappointment. Or maybe it was disgust. I honestly wasn't sure at the moment.

"Would any of you like to explain to the Headmistress why you're here?" She asked us in a calm voice.

I sat there for a moment as Scorpius crossed his arms and his sister crossed her legs. I was really starting to wonder if they were the same person. "Malfoy set my friend's hair on fire, Headmistress."

Rose scoffed at me. "No. _Weasley_ attacked my brother. The only thing I did was tried to protect him."

I turned to look at her in complete disbelief. "Seriously? You're going to act like you never set Jason on fire?"

"I told you he looked at her funny, Weasley. He had it coming." Scorpius mumbled next to me.

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, Scorpius, that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Jason didn't _do_ anything. He just sat down, for goodness sakes."

"You shouldn't have interfered." He said simply, as if I shouldn't be surprised that I was getting into trouble for defending the young Hufflepuff against his hellion of a sister.

I glared at him. "If you think for one second that I'm going to let-" I began, only to be cut off by the Headmistress.

"That is quite enough, Miss Weasley." She looked us each in the eye and I felt my face burn as the Weasley blush crept up on my face. "I am well aware of the events that occurred in the Great Hall and though I commend you for sticking up for Mr. Milbourne, Miss Weasley, I don't agree with hexing Miss Malfoy to avenge your friend."

I heard Rose snicker before the Headmistress turned to her with an equally stern expression. "Is there something comical about this, Miss Malfoy?"

I watched Rose as she sank a little into her chair and had to force myself to not grin in satisfaction. "No, Headmistress."

"Good. I would hate to see how your parents would react if they were called here to assist you with packing. Serious injury to another student results in expulsion. I hope all of you realize that."

"You're not going to expel her, are you Headmistress?" Scorpius asked. It was the first time since I'd met him that he actually sounded generally concerned. I watched him as he stared the Headmistress down, not in a rude or threatening way, but in an intense and demanding way.

"Not today, Mr. Malfoy. But you and Miss Weasley will be joining Professor Abbott for detention for the next five Saturdays. Miss Malfoy, you will be serving detention with me. You are to be up here every Friday night by eight o'clock, is that understood?"

We all nodded, too afraid that saying anything else could get us into further trouble and thus more detentions. I just thanked Merlin that she hadn't deducted points.

"You are dismissed." She told us. We each got up, heading to the door when she spoke again. "Actually, Miss Weasley, a word?"

I felt my face blush again as I turned back around and waited for the Malfoy twins to leave the office. "Yes, Headmistress?"

"I was wondering how you were settling into Hogwarts. You seem mighty disturbed each time I see you."

I personally hadn't remembered seeing her but the one time during the Sorting Ceremony and then now. Had I been too distracted or was she just keeping an eye out for me? "I'm settling just fine, Headmistress. It's just taking a little getting used to, is all, with Albus being in Slytherin and not seeing my parents or Hugo."

She smiled and stood up, walking by a group of paintings. Most of the portraits were asleep, but two kept a keen eye on me. One I recognized immediately as Albus Dumbledore. The other, I didn't recognize. He looked mean and hateful, giving me a look of pure disgust when I made eye contact. I immediately focused my attention back on the Headmistress. "I know you're feeling lost now, Miss Weasley. And I'm sure your mother and father would agree with me that it will pass. Just give it some time."

I nodded politely. "Thank you, Headmistress."

"Now, Professor Abbott tells me that you've been having quite the struggle getting along with Mr. Malfoy?"

I nodded again. "We're getting better at it. We promised that we would try to be friends, I swear."

She chuckled softly. "A lot like your parents, you are. Just promise me that you won't judge anyone before you get to know them. Miss Malfoy, included."

"But Headmistress, I-"

She held up a hand to silence. "Try to get to know her, Miss Weasley. An alliance with her could prove to be potentially promising to you." She gave me a look like she knew something and was keeping it from me.

I felt oddly exposed and tucked some of my frizzy red hair behind my ear. "Yes, Headmistress. I'll… I'll try to be friends with her too."

She smiled and patted my head. "Wonderful. Now off you go. I'm sure your cousin James is worried sick that he'll lose his broom funding from your father over this. You'd best go share the good news that your parents aren't being contacted this time."

I smiled and thanked her, rushing out the door as quickly as possible before she could stop me again. I couldn't help but wonder at the obscene request. Me? Befriend Rose Malfoy? I was already pushing it with Scorpius. Daddy would go absolutely mental if he found out we were friends, but Rose Malfoy too? I couldn't trust that girl at all, I couldn't be friends with her! Scorpius was a little different because although I didn't trust him much, he didn't seem to find joy in completely humiliating me. I knew it was probably because he and Albus were becoming fast mates, but the point was that he was making an effort to not hate me. Rose seemed to treat hating me like a sport.  
The funny thing was that neither of them had a problem with Albus, which I couldn't hardly understand. Albus was Harry Potter's son. My uncle, _the_ Harry Potter, who killed Lord Voldemort nearly twenty years ago. Surely, if they were going to hate someone based off of who their parents were, it would be Albus more so than I.  
I sighed to myself before walking into the Great Hall. I didn't understand how things got so messed up. Hogwarts was supposed to be wonderful, but now I had people who seemed to hate me for reasons I wasn't completely sure of.

"Rosie!" James yelled, waving me over to him.

I blushed as people looked over their shoulders at me as I walked by, secretly wishing to smack James upside the head for giving everyone another reason to stare at me.

"How was it? Did she write Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron?" He asked quickly as I was sitting down.

"For Merlin's sake, James, calm down. I just got detention, no letters home."

He relaxed instantly and began piling vegetables on my plate. "Good. Cause I was thinking, maybe I need to take you out to practice some Quidditch, you know? I think with all this pent up anger you seem to have hidden all these years, it might be a good idea to train you to be a beater. You know, take it out on the bludgers instead of Malfoy's skull?"

I rolled my eyes and ate a spoonful of potatoes. "I wasn't hitting his skull…"

"If his sister hadn't shoved you, you may have. Spunky little thing, isn't she? Back to the point though," he said in the same serious tone every time he spoke about Quidditch, "we need to keep you out of trouble. If we want you to play next year, you need to be practiced and out of trouble. No matter how good of a player you are, Ashley Spinnett doesn't want a hot head on her team."

I looked down at the table at Ashley, sighing at how grown up the sixth year seemed. I wondered if I could ever look that grown up. "Ok, Jamie. I'll stay out of trouble."

He smiled and threw his arm around my shoulders. "That a girl, Rosie. Now eat up! I'm taking you flying tomorrow. You won't believe the difference of flying on the Pitch compared to the field at the Burrow!"

I spent the next week avoiding Scorpius, which, in turn, meant I had to avoid Albus as well since they seemed to be joined at the hip these days. I'd say I'd done rather well with the whole "staying out of trouble" thing as James had suggested. Ashley Spinnett had actually complemented my flying and encouraged me to try out next year. I nearly fainted and possibly would have if James hadn't pinched my arm to bring me back to reality.

The only bad thing to occur thus far this week was accidently reaching my hand into some seriously nasty purple goo in charms class which had me rushed off to the Hospital Wing when it caused the skin it touched to erupt in a horrible, burning rash. Jason's face never looked so green when he passed Roxy and I as we rushed out of the classroom and he saw my hand.

It was all healed up by dinner, of course, and Rose Malfoy looked rather irked when she saw me. Albus gave me an encouraging smile and Scorpius at least didn't smirk. Before I had a chance to even contemplate responding, I was pulled to the Gryffindor table by James, who looked much too excited for a boy whose disciplinary record was less than satisfactory.

"Rose! Eat up, we have a lot to do tonight!" He grinned as he pushed Freddie aside to allow me to sit next to him, shoving all sorts of vegetables on my plate.

I eyed it with slight annoyance as the only thing I cared for at the moment was the key lime pie sitting inches from me. "What could we possibly have to do, James? You act like I'm on the team."

He sighed loudly, his brown eyes looking at me incredulously. "Rosie, I have practice starting soon! We have to get you on the Pitch as much as possible!"

I quirked an eyebrow and took a bite of carrots. "If you're going to be coaching me whenever you don't have practice, when is your homework going to get done?"

His cheeks turned a guilty shade of pink as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I was going to ask you about that…"

I sat there a moment before it dawned on me what he was about to ask. "No. No, absolutely not, James Sirius Potter. If you think for one moment I'm doing your school work for you, you've taken one too many bludgers to the head."

I watched James as he glanced nervously at Freddie who was snickering with Roxie. "Not _all_ the time, Rosie. Just, you know, occasionally, when I need help."

I rolled my eyes. "You mean like last year when I agreed to _help_ you with research essays by owl and ended up writing the whole thing myself?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and chuckled. "Course not, Rosie. Nothing big, promise."

I pursed my lips and pushed my plate of vegetables towards him, grabbing a new plate and putting a big slice of key lime pie on it and taking a big bite. "Fine. But no more dictating what I eat. If I'm helping you lie to your parents about how well you're doing in your classes, I at least get dessert before vegetables."

He groaned, contemplating his decision before giving me a reluctant nod. "Alright, Rose, but don't go overboard. You need to be fit for next year."

I sighed and took another huge bite. "Whatever you say, Jamie."

As I was walking out of the Great Hall, I was pulled by my elbow to the side by Scorpius, who smirked at my startled expression. I yanked my arm out of his grip, glaring at him and looking at Albus who stood nervously by his side, clearly expecting another explosive argument.

I smoothed my skirt as I took a deep breath. "I'm assuming calling my name as I walked by would have been too polite?"

Scorpius smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not as much fun."

"Right. It's also not as rude. I'm going to go ahead and assume that's the primary reason for your decision." I pursed my lips in disapproval and raised an eyebrow at Albus. "You summoned?"

He rubbed his arm. "Sorry about that. I was just wondering how you're doing. I haven't seen you since that incident last week…" He gave Scorpius a stern look that slightly surprised me.

Scorpius, surprising me further, sighed as he pulled a red rose out of his robes pocket and held it out to me. "I'm sorry for insulting you while you idiotically tried to stop my sister from hexing Milbourne."

I crossed my arms tightly over my chest as Albus elbowed him. "Scorp, you just insulted her again…"

Scorpius flushed an uncomfortable shade of pink and almost looked like he was in pain as he searched for the right words to say, his slivery-blue eyes looking right into mine. "I'm sorry for… being a prat. I conjured this rose for you as a token of my apology."

I eyed the rose extended towards me and raised an eyebrow. "A rose. Original, Malfoy, I'm glad you put so much thought into it. Though, I am rather impressed that you admitted to being a prat. I wasn't expecting that one."

His eyes hardened in irritation. "Just take the bloody rose, Weasley."

I contemplated prolonging this seemingly painful experience for him until I received a glare from Albus. I reluctantly took the rose from Scorpius. "Thank you."

He grumbled under his breath and looked at Albus in annoyance. "Can I go now?"

Albus smiled. "Meet you in the common room?"

Scorpius gave him a short nod, completely avoiding making eye contact with me, before walking straight to the dungeons.

"He's got issues, that one." I said as I watched his blonde hair disappear around the corner.

Albus shook his head and sighed. "You two are unbelievable. I don't know how my two best friends have so much trouble getting along."

"I don't know why my best friend felt the need to befriend someone so rude." I said, smiling sweetly. "Besides, aren't I enough?"

He rolled his eyes but smiled. "So why have you been avoiding me?"

I blushed faintly and twisted a chunk of hair. "I haven't been avoiding _you_, I'm just trying to keep from hexing Malfoy and getting into trouble. James would have a complete meltdown if anything happened."

He chuckled and started leading me up the staircase. "I saw that pie thing you did. He looked like he was going to die when you did that. He still on about you training for the Quidditch team?"

I nodded and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. "It's all he talks about. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. I love Quidditch, but he's taking it too far. I'm not even on the team."

"Well, if you get a chance to escape, you should let me know. Scorp and I are going to explore the castle a bit more and we thought you might like to join in."

"_We_?" I looked at him doubtfully. "When is this little adventure?"

"Oh, about midnight." He grinned mischievously.

My eyes widened and we paused for the staircases to stop changing. "Albus, that's after hours!"

He laughed. "Oh come off it, Rose, like you're not itching to break a few rules."

I blushed as he made reference to a certain summer where he and I literally broke every rule Grandma Molly had set for us as we embraced our rebellious side and won the bet against James. "Not here. It actually matters here."

He tugged on my robes sleeve. "Rosie, come on. We won't get caught."

I glanced at him. "And how could you possibly know that?"

He smirked, freakishly mimicking Scorpius. "You'll see. Just be outside your common room at midnight. We'll be there."

I opened my mouth to tell him no, but something in me urged me to take a chance. "Alright, Albus. But if we get caught, I get all the sweets Grandma Molly sends this Christmas."

He chuckled. "Deal. I'll see you soon, ok?"

I nodded and gave him a hug before he dashed back down the stairs, to meet Scorpius, I assumed. I sighed and walked up the remaining flights of stairs to get to my common room, uttering the password _Fluxweed_, and stepped inside. Dominique, Roxanne, and Freddie were sitting on the couch playing a game of exploding snap while Dominique's admirers and Freddie and Roxanne's friends, watched them.

"Hey, Rosie! Winner plays Victorie whenever she gets done writing her love letter to Teddy. Want to play?" Freddie asked with a playful grin. He knew I loved a good competition, but I was rubbish at the game.

I shook my head and gave him an apologetic smile. "No, thank you. I'll watch, though." I sat beside a blonde boy in Dominique and Freddie's year named Robert McLaggen and watched them.

"Having a good year, Weasley?" He asked after Roxie knocked Dominique out of the game.

I smiled politely at him, twirling the rose Scorpius gave to me thoughtlessly. "So far, yes. How is yours going?"

"Great. Classes suck but I'm just doing good enough to play Quidditch. I'm trying for Keeper this year."

I nodded and pushed a curl out of my face, faintly remembering my parents mentioning something about a McLaggen during their time at Hogwarts. "Oh, well, good luck to you."

"Thanks. Are you going to try out next year?"

"If I didn't, James would have a complete meltdown." I laughed. "I really like chaser. I think I'll try for that."

"You can practice against me any time." He winked and stood up. "Later, Weasley."

I blushed furiously as he walked away, ignoring Roxanne's smirk.

"Seems Rosie has an admirer…" She said in a singsong voice after Robert walked out the portrait entrance.

Dominique flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and looked at me in disbelief. "Really? Who?"

"Rob. I'm going to have a talk with him." Fred grunted with annoyance.

"Robby? Really?" Dominique looked a little jealous as she crossed her arms and went back to watching the game.

I blushed and got out of my seat. "It was nothing…" I brushed past a fourth year and went up to my dorm, changing into my muggle clothes and pulling the curtains tight around my bed. I couldn't believe I'd agreed to sneak out. If I got caught, I wouldn't have to worry about getting Al's sweets because my parents would murder me before Christmas.

Before I knew it, midnight arrived. I made sure everyone was sleep. The only person I was worried about was Caitlyn who seemed to be up at all hours of the night, but the lump in her bed stayed still as I tiptoed out of the dorm, down the stairs, and out of the common room. I had hardly stepped out of the portrait before a pair of hands grabbed me seemingly out of nowhere.

"Let g-" I started before a hand clamped down over my mouth as I struggled to get out of their grasp.

"Merlin, Weasley, calm down before you get us all caught." Scorpius whispered in my ear.

I shivered and stopped struggling, waiting for them to let me go before rounding on them and smacking both him and Albus. "What the bloody hell did you think was going to happen when you just grab me like that?" I hissed under my breath.

I saw Albus grin in the dark. "Sorry, Rosie. He suggested it and I couldn't resist."

I glared at both of them and crossed my arms. "You both are complete arses."

They both chuckled quietly as Albus linked his arm through mine. "Come on, Rosie, we've got a lot to explore and only a few hours to do it."

I took an extra step away from Scorpius as I walked with them. "Where to first?"

"Third floor." Malfoy said in a quiet tone. "Father told me there was a room there that turned into whatever you needed it for. Said it was destroyed in the battle. We're going to see if it actually was."

I looked over at him. "The Room of Requirement? Mum said dark magic destroyed it. There's no reason to even look."

Albus lead us down the staircases, carefully looking at an old piece of parchment. "Oh, this way." He did turned left and pulled me with him.

I looked at Scorpius questioningly. "Al, the staircase to go down was the other way."

He shushed me as he and Scorpius pulled me into a dark corridor. We stood there a moment as Albus dimmed his wand, continuing to look at the parchment.

"Albus if we don't move, someone is going to-"

Malfoy glanced at the parchment and put a hand over my mouth with a look of urgency in his eyes as Albus made the light vanish from his wand, surrounding us in darkness. I didn't dare open my mouth as I heard footsteps approach us, my heart beating loudly in my ears as it got closer and closer until they suddenly turned and went up a flight of stairs and disappeared.

We sat there quietly a moment longer before I softly tapped Scorpius' hand and he removed it from my lips.

"Sorry." He whispered.

I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked around for Albus, his wand lighting up seconds later as he looked at that old parchment again. "Al, what is that?"

He looked up at me and grinned. "The map. James owed me."

I looked at him in shock before rushing over to his side and looking at the map, trying to memorize every detail of it. "Merlin's beard, how did you manage to do that?"

"Save it for later," Scorpius said as he too looked at the map. "I'd say we have two minutes to make it down the stairs before Bowman comes back through here."

Albus didn't say anything, he just pulled me with him as we rushed down the stairs as silently as possible with Scorpius close behind us. We hurried over to an old classroom and stepped inside, trying to quiet our breathing as the prefect passed by.

"That was close." Albus chuckled after Bowman left.

"Close? We were thirty seconds from our parents murdering us." I said, glancing at Scorpius. "Well, I mean, Al's and mine would. I'm not sure about yours…"

He rolled his eyes. "My parents aren't _proud_ of me for getting into trouble, Weasley. Don't let the bad reputation fool you."

I blushed and avoided both of their eyes, realizing how silly it was to even assume otherwise.

"Come on." Albus said with tired tone, leading us down another flight of stairs and taking a right, his nose nearly touching the parchment. I knew he was annoyed by the constant jabs Malfoy and I made at one another. I pondered why I felt a need to be so nasty with him, other than the fact that he constantly annoyed me and that ever-present smirk irked me to no end.

We came to a stop and Scorpius leaned against a wall as Albus paced in front of the opposite wall. I watched him curiously before taking a spot next to Scorpius. "I didn't mean to insult you. Honest. I didn't even think about it before I said it."

He continued to look forward at the wall, an almost sad expression on his sharp features. "I know. I just wish people didn't always assume my family is all bad. They're good people, they just made bad choices."

I frowned as the guilt sank in, pulling at my wild curls. "I don't think you're a bad person, Scorpius. You just… irritate me."

I heard him chuckle and looked up to see him smirking at me. "You just irritate me too, Rose."

I gave him a small smile before Albus gasped, a big, black door materializing on the wall.

"Moment of truth, guys." He grinned excitedly. We all stepped forward, wands at the ready. I wondered if it were possible for anything to have survived the dark magic Mum had described to me.

Carefully, we all stepped inside the old door as it creaked open for us. I was greeted by an old musty smell that caused me to wrinkle my nose as I took in the faded ash that surrounded us. Nearly everything in the room was dark and grey, either crumbles ash or covered in it. It seemed few things had survived the fire, which made me rather curious but weary what could have done so.

"This is so cool." Albus grinned as he shut the door behind us and looked around.

Scorpius nodded in agreement, his eyes analyzing everything as he walked through the ash, glancing back at me briefly. "You alright, Weasley?"

I nodded and stepped into an adjacent hallway of ash within the Room of Requirement. I wondered if every room would be full of ashes or if this is what Albus had asked for. I listened to the boys make comments about the smell and jokes about the amount of cleaning that would have to be done as I wondered around. In front of me was an old table with a couple of potion flasks on it, which looked oddly untouched. I wondered if we weren't the first to find that the room hadn't been destroyed after all.

I approached the table, touching one of the bottles delicately until it felt like something shocked me, causing me to gasp and yank my hand away. As I pulled my hand back, though, it bumped another flask and it crashed onto the floor.

"Shoot." I muttered, putting my wand in my pocket as I bent down to better see what I'd broken. I felt my nose burn from the fumes as I saw the shards of glass and old, discolored potion on the floor. I instantly felt lightheaded and nauseous, standing back up and closing my eyes to stop the spinning.

The floor trembled beneath me as the thunder boomed around me. I opened my eyes in alarm as I was suddenly in the middle of a dark maze, a horrible storm taking place around me. "A-Albus?" I called out worriedly. I reached for my wand and panicked when I couldn't find it. "Albus!" I screamed. I wondered around the maze with walls that seemed to close in on me. The lightning flashed again as the wind picked up and I felt my breathing quicken as fear sunk into every pore of my body.

'Keep yourself together, Rose.' I told myself as I began to shake. How could Albus leave me? How could he leave me here? He knew how afraid of storms I was.

I turned another corner and cried out in desperation as it was another dead end. "Albus!" I took a step back and started running, turning into a dead end over and over again as the thunder became defending and the light continued to fade.

I suddenly turned a corner and ran into a hooded figure, crashing on the ground with it. He growled and reached forward to grab me as I screamed and kicked to get away from it. I climbed to my feet and ran as fast as I could from the figure, my heart feeling as it was going to burst from my chest. I turned another corner, feeling hot tears run down my cheeks as I came to another dead end. I balled my fists up and began beating on the wall as hard as I could, ignoring the pain as the stone scratched my skin.

After another ear-shattering crash of thunder, I heard something behind me. I turned and saw two of the hooded figures coming towards me, the only thing I was able to see under the dark hoods were the menacing smiles with rows of razor sharp teeth.

I backed myself against the wall as I trembled. "Stay away from me." I said as strong as I could.

One hesitated as the other took another step forward with its arms out to grab me.

"Don't come any closer!" I screamed at it, waiting until it took another step before shoving past it as best as I could, only to be snatched by the other.

"Let go!" I cried desperately as I kicked and tried to shake him off.

"Rose!" I heard Scorpius yell. It sounded like he was right next to me.

I continued shoving against the figure as its partner came and joined him in restraining me.

"Rose! Stop! Close your eyes and calm down!" Scorpius yelled at me again. "You're hallucinating! You've got to calm down before you hurt yourself more!"

I slowly stopped trying so hard to get away and slumped down against the figure who'd grabbed me, crying freely as I tried to ignore the darkness surrounding me and the clusterphobia setting in. I felt myself begin to hyperventilate as the thunder slowly got quieter. I kept my eyes shut, afraid to open them.

"Rose?" Scorpius whispered.

I opened my eyes after a long time, meeting his silvery-blue ones. He had his arms around me, not as tightly as the figure had. I looked at him a moment before throwing my arms around his neck and crying in relief that the storm, the darkness, the figures, everything was gone. I'd never thought it was possible, but I'd never felt safer than I did in Scorpius Malfoy's arms.


End file.
